Efforts to improve automotive safety are trickling down to the smallest vehicles, including those that never hit the roads. Automated Vehicles The quest to develop safer cars is also influencing the design of smaller vehicles, benefitting manufacturing companies, warehouses, and the people who work in them. A new generation of autonomous guided vehicles (AGVs), alsoRead More

A new wave of optometry equipment relies on sensors, high-speed connectors, and the Internet of Things. Until recently, a routine visit to the eye doctor included a series of tests conducted using mostly mechanical tools. The standard optometry devices have continually evolved since their historical origins, but upgrades have been incremental — modern lighting systems,Read More

Autonomous machines and the Internet of Things have brought sensors to the forefront of electronics design. As the Internet of Things continues to expand and more applications feature autonomous functions, sensors have become an integral part of many electronic products. They capture the information that brings capability, autonomy, and precision to products in markets rangingRead More

The possibility of battery-free cell phones poses an existential threat to connector makers — or a new challenge. By Neil Shurtz Ask anyone what the biggest flaw is with their smartphone, and they’ll probably say it’s the battery. Relative to their massively expanded computing power and functionality, cell phones have actually come a long wayRead More

IoT technology has enabled life-changing innovations in medicine, security, transportation, and communication. But it’s also unleashed a wave of unnecessary or downright goofy devices. Are we in the Age of Wisdom or the Age of Foolishness? There is little doubt that the Internet has had a huge impact on our daily life. Some have evenRead More

As data rates increase, designers are encountering performance limits, signal loss, and higher costs, and congested PCBs. High-speed internal cable assemblies offer a potential solution. By I-PEX Connectors The increased complexity of enterprise computing equipment is one of the many factors that make today’s computing environment challenging. These complexity issues are further exacerbated by theRead More

Driverless golf carts and neighborhood electric vehicles may become mainstream well before autonomous cars become common. By Terry Costlow Golf cart suppliers have beat the auto industry in the race to electric power. Now they’re striving to make big inroads into the autonomous vehicle field. The challenges and benefits of using both electrified powertrains andRead More

A team of scientists is tapping electronics distributors and open source data to create better, cheaper environmental monitoring stations — and they want to help others do it themselves. Our water resources are under constant assault. Agricultural runoff, chemical pollutants, pharmaceuticals, water-borne pathogens, and other factors can render water unsafe to drink or swim in,Read More

Automakers are moving away from incandescent bulbs at increased speeds, eliminating a longstanding connector market. Opportunities for interconnect suppliers to shift gears and merge into more advanced automotive LED lighting applications abound. Much of the automotive industry’s attention is focused on the requirements of safety systems and autonomous driving, but there’s a similar revolution happeningRead More

Coating connectors with a dry powder that hardens when cured can bestow benefits in terms of connector strength and protection. For that reason, some connector suppliers are eyeing the move to powder. By Jean Thilmany Connector suppliers often cover their products — or at least part of their product — with an opaque coating thatRead More

Higher speeds have pushed designers to find creative ways to manage conflicting issues of speed, density, signal integrity, and reach. But as we look past 112Gb/s, the picture is getting fuzzier. Traditional backplane architecture has served the electronics industry exceptionally well for nearly 70 years. The advantages of modularity, manufacturability, repairability, as well as theRead More

Most of the connectors used in the small, hand-launched military UAVs typical of swarming drones are very small, lightweight, low-profile, D-shaped, or flat-nano connectors. By Ann R. Thryft Military UAV In a swarm of robots or a natural swarm of ants or bees, all units communicate with each other and act collectively. Swarm robotics looksRead More